SHOULD WE PRAY FOR.....REVIVAL?

Revival has become a buzzword in the prayers and lexicon of many Christians in certain churches, on Christian TV programs or various forms of media.  You can’t go to a conference or church seminar without someone talking about revival. This is great, but what does Revival really look? What is Revival anyway? Websters, in its many definitions of Revival, describe it as "the growth of something or an increase in the activity of something after a long period of no growth or activity".

I have seen a real Revival up close in 2002 and went back night after night for a while to study how it came about, as a student of revival. What it did, was end up changing me and setting me on a course of a repentant lifestyle, where humility and prayer became more important than just doing church work, for its own sake. There is nothing wrong with service in the Kingdom of God. However it is more meaningful if we are truly repentant, seeking the grace and forgiveness of God. This will lead to personal revival which leads to corporate when we seek to get right as the Body of Christ. This kind of "revival" is actually more beneficial to the individual soul than sitting there praying and hoping for a huge spiritual awakening in the West - which may or may never happen!

However, I have not only been permanent touched and affected during the 20 day Life Action ministries revival in Illinois in 2002, but have preached "revival" services and conducted two separate week long open air, summer tent meetings in the state. Each speaker I invited to share, including myself, had to talk about repentance, forgiveness and commitment before Grace, so folks can understand their need for a Savior. There is precedent in the Bible a process which the Lord uses to actually bring revival to a city.

FREE RESOURCE FOR PERSONAL REVIVAL. CLICK HERE FOR ENRICHING BIBLE-BASED PODCASTS AND MORE, FROM LIFE ACTION MINISTRIES.

God sent the Prophet Jonah to preach to the violent extremist heathens ofNineveh as an example to us that even the most vile sinner can be forgiven,through the washing of the Word and repentance. When Jonah preached to the Kingof Nineveh and his people, every one of them repented and was saved. These over 120,000 souls represent  the biggest revival every in history before we got to the First and Second Great Awakening in the United States in both the 17^th and 18^th century.  But if you study how it came about, it was obedience. It was not wishful thinking. It was not “the next big thing”. It was an entire people hearing the Word from the prophet sent by God….and “OBEYING”! Jonah proclaimed the Word from God that the city will be destroyed in 40 days. The people of this awful violent and pagan city, who knew there was a God in Israel. But they saw and heard a man telling the Truth of their coming doom and how to avoid it. They obeyed, repented, fasted and God let them live again.

There is another example in Scripture with King Asa, where the Book of the Law (first five books of our Bible) was found hidden. When Asa commanded the reading of it, hearts and souls were cut to the quick and Judah turned around for that season. Revival in Judah was so country wide, deep and personal that it affected entire families. The king himself - Asa - had his own unsaved grandmother Maacah completely removed because she made detestable obscene pagan rites idols and committed obscenities and evil against the Lord. Today, walking with the Lord as a Christian COULD lead to divisions within families, but while this is not a nice thing, it is more important to follow Christ than even your own parents. God takes precedence at this point in time.

We can continue with various and sundry examples of revival and the moves of God in the lives of mankind, throughout the ages. However the bottom line is this, it is better to get right with God on a deeply personal level. Then inspire others in small groups to do the same and move on to groups and finally your own church and community. This is how God moves - one person at a time.  But if God's people are only into playing church once a week, mouthing words, and then going back into the world to play their worthless games, you and I are wasting our breaths and trivializing the true meaning of revival, if we just become like just about everyone in modern weak evangelicalism. We pray: 

Heavenly Father, You have said (1 Samuel 15:22) that to obey You is better than sacrifice and to pay attention and listen to You is better than the fat of many things used for sacrifice. Lord, help us in our unbelief. Help us to follow Your instructions for life, as laid out in Your Holy Word that we pray first, then receive a revival in our own souls our own lives before we even consider praying for revival in our churches, communities and nations. Forgive us our sins. We repent, as if in sackcloth and ashes and rebuke all our transgressions and the iniquities where we have fallen short of Your expectations in our lives.  

We pray that our own church and ministry leaders will sense this and lead in corporate repentance which leads to obedience to You. We pray for Revival to begin with us, so that it will come to our own churches before it spreads into the community. Help us as a people to realize in our own soul-searching, how far we have strayed from You and restore us in standing before You, holy and righteous as a people, that we may serve You as You have commanded, in Jesus’ Holy and Mighty Name amen.

THY WILL BE DONE..."HOW DO I KNOW WHEN GOD ANSWER MY PRAYER"

During a Bible Conference a couple years ago, I asked Phil Johnson, the president of Dr. John MacArthur's broadcast ministry (Grace to You) the following question, in essence: "how do we know when  God has answered our prayers and how do we proceed from there". His general answer was, to paraphrase, that we should pray about it and trust the Lord and then take the appropriate course of action. This is a great answer but it also assumes a high level of spiritual maturity and discernment. Another small risk in that, is we can listen to our own voice and make a mistake outside the will of God.

For most Christians, it is not that easy because of the lack of spiritual maturity, with only 9 (NINE!!) percent of Americans with any Biblical Worldview at all!!! God has told us what His Will is for our lives and it is thus "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2 - please watch my video at the end of this page for a fuller explanation of this verse). God's Will for us is basically walking in Holiness so we can be more like Him, hence the reason He saved us and set us apart.

Now, the responsibility of the Christian is say "Thy Will be done on earth as You, oh God, have willed it in Romans 12:2 and I refuse to conform, compromise, sell out and trade my testimony and worse, my soul, with the world, just to be considered to be one of them"! Our prayer should be "Heavenly Father, most gracious kind, long-suffering, patient and merciful God, I surrender my entire will, my being, my life and my all to you. I take every thought captive and align it more with Thy Word. I accept Your true Will for my life which is obedience and walking in the Light of the Lord my Savior Jesus Christ, and I seek to follow Him in word, action and will. Lord, I seek Thy guidance in all matters. I want Your thoughts to be my thoughts. I desire Your strength to uphold me, Thy Spirit to direct, mold, move, reveal and not conceal but that You, oh Most High God would keep me close, because I am weak and need You, that I may truly discern what Your purposes, plans and paths are for me to follow, through Christ our Lord, my God and my King, amen".

A prayer of submission along those lines is what is needed. We also have to believe in Him for the answer, and that He will reveal it to us. I am cessionist only to the point where there is nothing more written, and revealed from God than His Holy Word, to all the peoples of all times and that means, one can add NOTHING to Scripture than the 66 books of the Bible. I also know PERSONALLY, that God speaks to us, when He wants and HOW He wants, because He is sovereign and we ain't!  The Bible has "Thus sayeth the Lord", in your own prayer life and if you're following and obeying Him (or should be) He will call, guide and/or rebuke in an audible voice, when necessary, as I know He has to me on three separate occasions in my life, in the last two decades. 

The key in praying to God about an important matter such as whom you should marry, or which job you should take or even which roads you should travel on a snowy, wintry day is this: listening! I cannot begin to tell you how many times He has rescued be because the Holy Spirit immediately prompted me to a sudden course of action here or there. I pulled off the interstate on an off-ramp one new year's eve on heading out for a 3 hour drive to family for a New Year's party, swung around and headed back home.  The Holy Spirit did not loudly say "get off this highway NOW" - He just moved and I obeyed immediately. He has also shown me opportunities which I missed because I decided NOT to move! This opportunity was in a flash second.
There is much more we can discuss to seek answers to prayer and that will be addressed in the next post....and then expand on "when God answers prayer"

THIRTY ONE DAYS OF PRAYER AND THE WORD:JANUARY 1-31, 2015 THEME: "ABIDE"

DAY ONE:

Beginning anything with Prayer and Praise, in gratitude for what God has done for us, is imperative. It is also always wise, in the Sight of the Lord, to begin each new calendar year humbly submitted to the Father, Who always existed and is always gracious to us, His Children.

The theme which the Lord gave me for this first month's focus - whether it is prayer, fasting, praise and sometimes, all three is ABIDE. The literal meaning of ABIDE in the New Covenant (or Testament) with Christ is "to remain in; to dwell and to live in Christ until death"! Christ is literally called the Branch in Prophesy (Zechariah 3:8 and others). There is no other way but to remain in Christ. He said that NO ONE can snatch HIS sheep out of His Hands, So eternity is secure to the born-again, converted and regenerated forer son/daughter of perdition. 

But just like the vine must remain connected to the Source to produce fruit. We must also remain connected with the Spirit of God. We know when we are saved that the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of the Branch - indwells us until death. Therefore, to live the full life, we must allow the Source of Everything to work in and through us. There is no other way - to be happy in Jesus - but to trust, obey and pray.

To start 2015 off as we should and in order to get to where we can function with an unction, this January, the focus is abiding in the Word with a verse and a prayer...and when the Spirit guides - a song. So here is Day 1 of 31:

VERSE: "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. (John 15:4).

PRAYER: Father God, Abba, Almighty God, Ruler of the Universe and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we thank Thee for all You are. We thank Thee for giving life, sustaining life and being the Author of Eternal Life. This is Life, that we may know You, that we may know Jesus Christ, the Author and Perfecter of our Faith, Who for the Joy set before Him endured the Cross, even unto death, that we may be saved. 

Father we accept, I accept, that glorious gift and accept Your Sovereignty, Your Majesty, Your Kingdom Authority, Your Power and Your Passion for Holiness which You exude in everything sent from Heaven, via Your Word. Your Word is confirmed by Your Holy Spirit Who lives in Your children. Father I attest to that Truth and pledge my days, the days and minutes of this new year, of this new paradigm, of this new season, to living in that Truth, to loving in that Truth, to triumphing in Your Testing, to persevering in the trials that come my way and to declaring Your Goodness.

Lord, You are MY GOD- You are MY KING, You are my Source, You are all that I need, all that I seek, all that I desire, all that I live for, all that I work for in the long run. I abide in the shadow of Your Mighty Wings, I dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, I rest in the Blessed Assurance that Jesus is mine, oh what a foretaste of Your divine glory, majesty, worthiness, excellence, purity and amazing awesomeness. I depend solely on You for my sustenance, in the spirit man and in the temporal. You are my all in all and I worship You, Abba Father.  Thank You for opening the portals of Heaven that we may seek and come before Thy Mighty Throne minute by minute if we so desire, and You listen. Lord, what manner of God is this - that You know my name....that of the billions, You know ALL Your creation to the smallest detail...that the Eyes of the Lord runneth to and fro and seeketh those whose hearts are set on Thee! Thank You for taking me as I was, so I can be like the Great I am, Your Son - YHWH - Who spake to Moses through the Burning Bush and led Israel through the Pillar of Fire and the Cloud.

Your Shalom is more precious than anything ever created, now and in the future and I rest and abide in this as we begin 31 days of precious, anointed, humble and submitted worship to You, oh Glorious King and Commander in Chief of the Universe, through Christ our Lord, amen.  

KEYS TO A GODLY LIFE PART 5/12 - HONOR AUTHORITY

THE DAWN OF GLORY SERIES:

PLEASE READ THE PASSAGE, THEN - WATCH THE BRIEF EXPOSITION FROM THE PLUMBLINE VIDEO:

1 Peter 2 (NASB)

13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, 14 or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. 15 For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. 16 Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. 17 Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God,honor the king.

18 Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. 19 For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.

21 For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, 22 who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; 23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

1 Peter 3

3 In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, 2 as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. 3 Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; 4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. 5 For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands; 6 just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.

7 You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

8 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9 not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. 10 For,

“The one who desires life, to love and see good days,
Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.
11 “He must turn away from evil and do good;
He must seek peace and pursue it.
12 “For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears attend to their prayer,
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

FORTNIGHT OF PRAYER

DAY 10

STAND UP FOR YOUR CONVICTIONS 

This is a different type of Prayer Focus Day as head towards the end of the designated 14 Days of Prayer, originally called by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops for Religious Liberty. Since then, several major conservative Protestant organizations, including myself, have joined in as there is always a great time to pray and obey.


As we come to the final Five Days, for this specific period, we have to resolve to NEVER stop praying! This is the main takeaway from what we are doing. The Bible says to "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17). This LITERALLY means (in the Greek) - LEAVE NO INTERVAL BETWEEN THE TIME YOU PRAY (for example NOW) AND THE NEXT TIME! It doesn't mean you pull over every five minutes on the Interstate Highway, kneel down and pray. The key is to be in constant and repentant fellowship with the One Who created you and sent His Son to be the Bridge back to Him, so we can have that uniquely close relationship with our Father.


If you and I wish to see our children and families and therefore our local communities and towns do better, we must never cease from praying. We should never stop because the enemies of God - the devil - will not stop until he destroys our peace, our love for the Savior and each other and our children and their futures. Christ was NOT kidding when He said in John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly".

Many Christians are now fearful since the US Supreme Court, in a stunning decision decided to legitimize a life-altering governmental decree which affects every single American. With or without knowing it, the decision has repercussions for Religious Liberty, Individual Freedom and personal choice. There is confusion in the Body of Christ about how to react to this and if we should really even want to pray God's blessings to the people who do this kind of thing.


Again - yes, we have to, because God commanded us to. But several questions and concerns have come up in the past couple of days, which are worth considering and taking to the Lord in prayer:


-  When praying for a decision maker: whether it is a wrong-headed Judge or Politician, pray for his/her personal salvation first, their safety and their families' protection, joy and happiness.Trust me, my friends. This will put you in good standing with the only Judge Who matters - Jesus Christ!


-  We are to pray that their policies and plans reflect the Will and intentions of God, not man. If a politician and the judge who okays it, decides they wish to tell a church "You can pray inside your four walls, but don't bring your religion outside and try to live like a Christian....and by the way, I, Mr. Politician, am a Christian too...so keep your opinion to yourself!" Well, in this case, you don't pray for any ungodly policy - which promotes abortion or teaching kids sex education or name your outrage - we DO NOT PRAY FOR THAT TO SUCCEED.


- In this event, while praying for government leaders, it is absolutely okay to put these people and any clearly anti-Bible policies firmly in the Hands of God and pray "God, oh my God, I can't handle this....I am losing my mind watching all the debate and outrageous lies or policies I see on Fox News, Father if You don't take this from me,  I will become a basket case. I give this issue over to You. Lord, You alone are sovereign and the heart of the king is in Your Mighty Hands. From the days of Nimrod and others, man has assumed an opinion of himself higher than You. 
In 6000 years, nothing has changed. So Father, I ask that You deal with this in Your Way, which I know is not MY way! Lord I know this policy or decree or mandate to provide pre-abortive pills is wrong and from darkened, cold hearts. Lord, You handle this in Your way. The courts and laws of man will never be pleasing in the Eyes of a Holy God, so now, oh God, I pray for Divine Intervention. 
Father, none will escape Your accountability, including me, if I don't stop obsessing about this and go back to "praying without ceasing". Therefore, I am now submitting to You and Your plans for us as a family and the Body of Christ, in Jesus' Name, amen.
If you prayed this prayer, and really want to not let all of this evil and politics get to you - turn the TV off and go for a walk or workout in the gym, or go ride your bike...trust me, it makes a HUGE difference. It is also more therapeutic and enriching. I keep a running up to date podcast list of my favorite preachers, which you can get for free off iTunes or OnePlace. You don't have to listen to "fire and brimstone" speakers all the time. There are some great Bible teachers out there who will bless you, as they teach the world of God, so click on the ONE PLACE link.


Finally...and we are going to keep this running on this site, for long as it takes, I wish to briefly address a question, which is relevant to our time.
- Is it okay to "REBUKE" the devil? Yes! Here is what James, the half-brother of Jesus wrote in James 4:7 "Submit to God, RESIST the devil and he will flee from you!" RESIST in the original language is anthistémi or STAND YOUR GROUND, OR SET YOURSELF AGAINST, OR FORCEFULLY STAND UP FOR YOUR CONVICTIONS....need I continue!


I have personally rebuked the devil several times and most of it was while the scumbag has come after my family, or my soul when I am doing the Lord's work. He is not to be trifled with but he is a liar, cheat and a coward who flees at the Name of Jesus! I know this to be ABSOLUTELY TRUE!!!  However you want to rebuke the devil and his demons, do it but ONLY do it if your soul is right with God! Do not go to trench warfare with the serpent of old armed with a super soaker! He will eat you up and spit you out if 1. you are not saved and 2. are not fully walking with the Lord! Trust me, I have seen and heard of many people "binding" and "rebuking"  or "casting demons" into "hell" etc...only to have them not just get frustrated that things got worse, but they are more confused than ever!


Think on these things, over this weekend as the second half of this year begins. Then ask the Lord to search your heart and see if there is anything hidden or wicked or should not be there, and then ask Him to remove it, so that there be nothing hidden between you and Him. This way, you and I can be better men and women of prayer...powerful and righteous before Him. Amen.

(image by google)

THIRTY DAY PRAYER CHALLENGE - DAY 5

PRAY THE NAMES OF GOD

DAY 5
GOD IS ADONAI:




Adonai is such a complicated yet simple (in a sense) Name of God that it could take days to study it alone...and then you could never fully get to the end of the meaning of the word because it is as magnificent as Jesus is Himself!


The Bible uses both the singular and the plural of the word ADON. Adon is singular and could refer to men or angels (as in my Lord...when you and I are being polite or if a real angel visited us).


HOWEVER the plural ADONAI refers ONLY to GOD!!!


It would take too long and we would lose the attitude of prayer to explain the dozens of references in Scripture to Adonai. It would make an amazing personal or church Bible study to do that. But for now. Let's just look at two things.


Adonai speak of two important things to our Walk with God: Submission and Relationship.


Our Jesus confirmed He was Yahweh Who spoke to Moses in the Burning Bush when He told the Pharisees in John 8:58 ESV "Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” The words "I AM" is YHWH or Yahweh in the original Hebrew.

Yahweh is the Name you bow down to. You cannot be a child of God unless you submit to His Lordship and His Hand over your life. The minute you come to the end of yourself and realize that, repent of your sins and seek His Forgiveness, that is the ONLY point you are now saved!

This is the top end of the spectrum 

Romans 10:9 says "if you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved". The the word LORD here is "Kyrios" or Master or you and I coming to the realization that Jesus has FULL OWNERSHIP and RIGHTS over us! 

This is the point where you full accept His Lordship and rule over your life. Once you give up the rights to, or as the Bible says "die to yourself", you are now a Child of the King....or He has you in His Hands. There is no more secure and better place to be than in the Hands of Jesus. 

This is the point where relationship begins.

This is the point where we, lowly mortal man, reaches up to Him and call Him Lord and Master!

You are not saved or a follower of Jesus if He is not your Lord and Master!  This is the essence of this relationship, my friends.  The Bible is clear by the exact meaning of the words it uses. Either we believe it or we don't. There is no middle ground or black and white.

So Father, in the Name of Jesus, I submit to Your rule over my life. I recognize and confess and admit that YOU alone are God! 

You are the first born of all creation.

You are the pre-existent God Who knew me before I was born.

You are the Great I Am, Who called Moses from a bush in the Sinai mountain.

You are the Great I am, Who confirmed in to the rebel Pharisees.

You are Adonai, the Lord and Master of my life.

You, Sir, have full ownership of me!

I surrender ALL rights I have to rule and run and even ruin my life to you.
I surrender all that I was, am and ever will be to You rule and direction FOR me.

I surrender every fiber of my being to you.

I surrender every thought, whim and every thing I will ever do to you.

I surrender all
I surrender all

All to thee my Precious Savior, I surrender ALL! ALL! ALL!

Take me, mold me, bend me, Adonai, my Lord and my God.

Take me, use me, send me, my Master and friend.

Take me, lead me, never leave me, my Shepherd and leader.

Jesus, Adonai, be the Lord of my life!
I am a possessor, not a professer.

You said that Your sheep know Your Voice and not one of Yours will be lost.
Adonai, my Master and Lord, that can only be so if I fully belong to You, Jesus!
So now, I again, confirm and affirm my complete submission to You, my King and thank you for rescuing me time after time and for giving me assurance that I am Yours and You are mine.

Bless you Adonai and bless our Daddy - Abba Father, with Whom we have covenant relationship, BECAUSE of You and the Cross of Calvary, 

In Your Most Holy and Precious Name, I pray, amen!

TOMORROW - DAY 6 - THE NAME 'ELOHIM'